Aston Villa's £25m move for Ismaila Sarr runs into problems

Aston Villa's £25 million move for Watford forward Ismaila Sarr is set to collapse.

Sarr's return to the Premier League is expected to fall through after negotiations between the two clubs over the weekend stalled.

Villa had initially agreed a deal which included Sarr moving to the club for a transfer which could eventually be worth £27 million, with Cameron Archer and Kortney Hause joining Watford on loan.

However, issues arose on Sunday night over the structure of the deal and Sarr's personal terms, and it is now off.

The Senegal international is understood to have been at Villa's training ground to have his medical on Sunday before the deal ran into problems.

Sources insist there is no prospect of the deal being revived in its current structure.

The 24 year old has been a long-term target for Villa, even before the £100m sale of Jack Grealish to Manchester City last August.

Gerrard admitted Villa were in the market for more signings after their disappointing 3–1 defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

He said: “There’s still time in the window to shape our squad and, as I say, that never stops at Aston Villa.

“We’re always looking to improve in every marginal gain and, if there’s a bit of help we could get, we’ll always analyse that situation.

“Yes, I’m content, I’m happy and I’ve had fantastic support from the club from above but the window’s still open and, at Aston Villa, we’re always searching to be better.”

Villa have already spent around £45 million this summer after signing Diego Carlos and Philippe Coutinho, and are expected to be active before the transfer deadline.

Gerrard is also moving to trim his "bloated" squad, with winger Bertrand Traore signing for Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir on loan for the